An Incident on a Train
by imanewme
Summary: A chance meeting on a Monday morning leaves both Kagome and Sesshoumaru in shock.
1. Monday

_Title: An Incident on a Train_

_A/N: I wrote this for a community challenge. Most of the comments asked me to write more. I'm considering it, so this is kept apart from my Drabble/Oneshot collection piece. What do you guys think? Want some more of this one?  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha. The series and characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I make no profit from these stories. They are merely my interpretation of the characters for entertainment purposes._

* * *

The rain drizzled on Kagome's head as she waited to board the train. Her umbrella was safe and sound at work, of course, and she had worn her new white shoes. Looking down at the shoes, she sighed.

'Well, they used to be white anyway,' she thought as the train came to a stop at the depot. Damp nameless bodies pressed around the lithe girl as they moved in masse and boarded the train. An elbow caught her upper arm, knocking it upward and unfortunately square into the bottom of a Styrofoam coffee cup.

"Oops, sorry!" she squealed as the coffee spilled down a gentleman's pristine white shirt. She immediately rummaged in her hand bag, produced a red handkerchief, and began dabbing the man's shirt gingerly. "I hope this tides you over until you can take care of this properly. Are you all right?"

The man's hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away. For the first time, Kagome looked up at the man she had inadvertently christened and gasped. 'His eyes couldn't possibly be red,' she thought to herself. Blinking, she realized she must have been imagining it, because the man's eyes were an unusual and piercing shade of gold.

Kagome's breath caught in her chest and her heart began to pound as she stared back into his eyes. She didn't know why, but there was something familiar about his emotionless stare. A terror she had not experienced since her days beyond the well swept through her body and she was rooted to the spot, unable to move. She forgot to breathe as he leaned in and took a long deep sniff of her neck.

The train came to a stop, and the man pulled her through the exit the moment the doors opened.

"Hey!" Kagome screeched at the man, "Let me go!"

"Silence!" the man barked and continued dragging her from the station.

"I will NOT be quiet!" Kagome bit out.

The man stopped. Leveling a harsh glare he shook her firmly. "I will not hurt you unless you give me a reason," he hissed through clenched teeth.

'I'm going to die, and on a rainy Monday, too,' Kagome thought suddenly. Tears welled up in her eyes unbidden as she thought of her JiChan and baby brother, Souta. Memories of her mother's untimely death at the hand of a petty thief raced through her mind as she frantically tried to decide what to do. She wanted to scream, but all she could think of were the police reports she read after okaasan's funeral. Eye witnesses claimed the thief had not harmed her mother until she began to resist. 'And all this over some spilled coffee!' she thought ruefully.

The man continued down the busy street dragging Kagome behind him. A few people looked at her with concern, but, much to her horror, they all turned away, content in minding their own affairs. Without warning, he shoved her through a gate. Placing one hand on either shoulder firmly, he pushed her down to sit on a low bench.

The man crouched down and peered into her dark brown eyes now puffy from crying in fear. "It's you," he whispered.

Without warning, Kagome flared her power and kicked as hard as she could, burying a dirty white tennis shoe firmly into his groin. "You Jackass!" she screamed and ran.

Sesshoumaru doubled over in pain, stunned. His eyes followed the path Kagome took as she ran away. There was no doubt; this girl was the Shikon Miko. She had disappeared hundreds of years ago, but here she was alive and well in Tokyo. He had to know more. Scenting the wind, he began the hunt.


	2. Running

Incident Chapter 2: Running Away

a/n: Thank you to all who reviewed. Enjoy the next installment. This is actually a half - chapter, but I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer.

* * *

Kagome's thoughts were jumbled as she ran down the busy streets. The rain began peppering down in earnest, and it was not long before Kagome's skirt and shirt were soaked through to the skin. She gave little thought to her direction. Her only thought was to run away.

Habit, not rational thought, guided Kagome's feet as she fled from her percieved attacker. Her heart pounded in her chest as she unlocked the door and let herself into the house. She slipped off her muddy shoes and into her favorite house flats and sat on the entrance way step to catch her breath.

'What was that about?' she thought to herself.

She closed her eyes and thought back to the morning's altercation. Shuddering, she remembered the strength of the man's grip on her wrist. He had the reddest, no, goldest eyes she had ever seen. They were piercing and seemed to stare straight into her soul.

'But why?' she thought, 'What did he mean by 'it's you'?'

Suddenly a chill ran down the young woman's spine.

"Does this man know me?" she whispered.

'Souta!' she thought suddenly. She dashed into the kitchen and called her brother to let him know she wouldn't be visiting his apartment today after all.

"Hey, sis. Where are you?"

"I'm at home, Souta, that's why I called. I'm not going to be able to make it today."

"Are you ill?" Souta asked, "I could send some hot miso over if you're not feeling well."

"No, I'm not sick," she sighed. "I uh, had a run in with some goon on the train."

"Did you call the police?" Souta's voice sounded pinched. "Are you injured? What did he take? I'm coming right over."

"No! Souta, really, there's no need to come over, I'm fine." Kagome did her best to sound confident. "I didn't call the police, he didn't hurt me, and come to think of it he didn't take anything, either."

"That's odd," Souta said "he didn't take anything?"

"No, nothing. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure what happened this morning. All I did was spill some coffee on his shirt."

"Kagome, start from the beginning. What exactly happened?"

Kagome sighed. Her little brother would always want to know the details. Starting from the point she accidentally spilled coffee on the mysterious man, she told her story. As she recounted her experience, certain details demanded her attention. The man had smelled her neck. He had not hurt her, he had not taken anything from her. What haunted her most was his obvious familiarity with her. His words, "It's you," echoed in her mind.

"I don't know Kagome, the man sounds like a psychopath. Are you sure he didn't follow you home?"

Kagome shuddered. She hoped the man hadn't followed her home. Squaring her shoulders and reassuring herself more than her brother she continued the conversation.

"I'm sure, Souta. I'm just a little freaked out. I'm going to stay here today, okay? I'll come by and visit you in a few days, if that would be all right?"

"Maybe you should get a dog," Souta suggested.

Kagome relaxed and even smiled at the thought of having a guard dog by her side. "I'll think about it, Souta." She reassured him. "Seriously, I'm going to go unwind for a bit."

"Okay, but if you need anything, call me."

"I will, Souta. I will."

Kagome returned the headset to the cradle and sighed. There were details about her story that didn't quite fit. Had the man actually smelled her neck? Did he really say "it's you?"

Shaking her head, she decided to push the incident from her memory. 'Souta's right,' she thought, 'he does sound like a psychopath.'

Kagome paced around the house, restless as she tried to recall every detail about the man on the train. Wistfully she stared out into the garden and tried to regain a sense of calm. She focused on the god tree and let her mind wander. Sweet memories of friends and adventures were tainted with the pain of saying goodbye. Suddenly nostalgic, Kagome pulled on her garden boots and went to the old well shed.

She avoided the well these days, as she was often overcome with sadness knowing that it no longer carried her to the past and her beloved friends. Today she hoped the well would bring her comfort as a reminder of the half-demon who always protected her. No matter how difficult facing the well was, it was still her closest link to her beloved Inuyasha. Kagome pushed open the door and stepped inside the dusty shed.

"It's the same as it's always been," Kagome whispered as the bone-eater's well came into focus. She had not ventured into the old well house for over a year. In the five years since her days in the well, Kagome had moved on. There was just something about her exchange with the man on the train that made her want to return to the Feudal Era. Taking another look at her wet skirt, she decided it couldn't get dirtier and sat on a step facing the well.

"Inuyasha," she sighed.

* * *

Sesshoumaru's mind raced. There was no doubt: He had run into the Shikon Miko. He had not thought of her in a couple of hundred years. What was she doing in Tokoyo now? She had disappeared with the jewel all those years ago. It didn't make sense.

Inuyasha never mentioned the girl after she disappeared, but Sesshoumaru remembered how his half brother had provoked him for years after she disappeared. It was as if he wanted to die. Sesshoumaru sniffed in disgust at the memory. His half-brother had claimed love for the girl, and in the end this love had driven his sibling to seek death.

Love. Sure, he knew what it was. He had learned love through Rin. During her brief years on the planet, her safety and happiness had always been first priority. He still mourned her loss, but he had never wished for death as a result of her absence. Why Inuyasha had claimed love then wished for death he never understood.

That was not important now, though. What was important was finding out why this strange miko was here now.

'Why is that important?' The question popped into Sesshoumaru's head suddenly. Was it really that important? He had built a comfortable life for himself. He had a home, a job, and owned a shipping company that would assure that his life was pleasant. As the demon community died off, he remained as healthy as ever. He learned how to blend into human society and even profit from their ways. Why was it important that he seek out the miko now?

He wasn't sure. Maybe it was nostalgia for the way things used to be. She was quite possibly the only living being on the planet who understood the times when he was in his prime and living without deceptions and commerce. He was free then, and he missed it all, the thrill of battle, the elegance of his station, the respect of others who knew his true form. All of that had faded away, and yet he lived on. Maybe that's why he needed to seek her out. Sesshoumaru was ready to die. She just might be the only one strong enough to give him an honorable death.


End file.
